Shadow Sun
by Izzu
Summary: A Whatif plot that I thought of. Fate is something that he could not control and the present is changing in a way that his future may end differently. The choices that lay before Lelouch, how it may change his life... only fate can tell. REVISED
1. Chapter 1:0: The day the Sun sets

az: I am writing three chapters of this at one go... because bunnies like to pull a fast one on me while I struggle to find ways to better word the fic. And recently... I hurt myself... so yeah... I feel as miserable as Lulu will be in this fic. Not... XP

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be Alternate Universe.

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Shadow sun

Chapter 1: The day the sun sets

By honou-no-izumi alias izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

"_Suzaku. Let"s stop this senseless fighting. I have enough entertaining you. I want to talk instead..." _

Suzaku bit his lip as he tensed, eyeing the figure walking up amongst the rubble in front of it. He tried to control his temper and intense anger that he was feeling at the moment. Stay calm, don't let yourself be fooled by him. For his own sake. For every—scratch that. A person who killed his own father has no right to act so noble...

xxx

"Zero!", cried C.C as she poke her head out of Gawain's cockpit. Zero turned as he cocked his head towards her.

"Stay there. I want to settle this myself, in my own way—", he hollered as C.C cast him a disbelieving look. Zero shrugged. "Are you having doubts that I will not be fulfilling my side of the contract with you? Have faith in me—"

C.C was about to snap back at him at how foolish he was acting now but stopped at Lelouch's last word. He said her name. Despite she thought that it sounded the same as the last time he had spoken her name aloud, this time—This time it sounded as if Lelouch was calling her name aloud... fondly. Had she dreamt it? Zero nodded his head to his side again as C.C had a strange thought that the young prince might be smiling at her at the moment under that mask.

Zero turned around as he continued his approach towards Lancelot in a very calculative move. Despite the war still continued around him, the young man was still unfazed by it.

Lancelot backed away a little.

"**What are you up to, Zero? Don't think that just because you had walked up to me without your KnightMare that you could convince me to join you! You—"**

Zero looked up. "Do not just assume everything on your own. If you want to kill me now, just shoot. I intentionally cut our senseless dogfight short just to settle this down. So if you had no intention to hear me out, just shoot me. You know pretty well that I can't escape Lancelot's firing range fast enough at this distance and situation. Why don't you shoot me? Kururugi Suzaku!"

Suzaku jumped at the cold voice that uttered his name aloud. His hands shook. Right, this is his chance! This is payback for taking away Euphemia's life from her. For turning her into _that. _He should be pushing the fire button on his targeting stick. Yes, he should... that will be the right thing. Zero must die for everything he did. He should die!

He jumped as he heard laughter coming from Zero. Zero looked up to him as he took off his mask.

Lelouch smiled.

"What are you contemplating for? Are you disregarding your words earlier? Are you still with those idealistic thoughts in your head? Suzaku! Look at me! This time I am not the same civilian you saw in Shinjuku!"

Suzaku glanced up towards the view screen to see Lelouch staring back at him without that Zero mask. With his left eye that revealed its bright purplish glow light. Making him looking more like a total stranger than the abandoned prince of Britannia, who had once been his friend. He still could not accept the fact that this friend had been so cold-hearted to the point that he would not bat an eye at killing his own siblings. To think he had stood beside this friend and not sensing this part of him.

"What are you hesitating?"

Suzaku frowned as he activated the targeting mechanism for VARIS. As the screen locked on target, Suzaku paused as he caught sight of Lelouch's face again. The lad had not moved from his spot since earlier and somehow... just somehow, he thought he saw Lelouch staring back at him with his saddened face again. He shook his head. No, his mind was playing tricks at him. Suzaku looked back towards the viewscreen again. Staring back towards Lelouch's face. That left eye of him really made him look... insane. Yes, that should be enough reason—

Suzaku let out a startled cry as he saw into Lelouch's eye. Despite one of them had glowed so strangely, those eyes remained the same. Those were the eyes of Lelouch Vie Britannia. Lelouch Lamperouge's eyes. The same eyes that had always watch over Nunn ally, ever looking so kind... yet so sad during other times. His friend, how could he—?

Lancelot lowered its rifle as Lelouch let out an amused laugh.

"I... can't!" said Suzaku as Lancelot's cockpit opened and he stood. "As much as I hated you for what you have done and how much anger I felt at this moment, I just can't! Damn you Lelouch!" shouted Suzaku. Lelouch chuckled as he took out a gun and point it towards Suzaku. Suzaku frowned as both remained still.

"_Those who are prepared to be shot, are the only ones allowed to shoot... is it? _You can't pull the trigger... and you still held on to that naïve view of not taking lives. If you claimed to be doing the right choice, you should not be hesitating to doing anything! Even if it meant that you have to abandon your own personal emotion. That's why—"

Lelouch sighed as he put down his gun.

"That's why... I said that you are an idiot. Reality is different than what you thought. You can't change anything while sticking to your own idealistic views and acting in a foolhardy manner! You—"

"That's easy for you to say. Just because you think you are the one in the right doesn't mean that you could freely play with people's life—!"

Lelouch fumed. "I had never claimed that I'm doing the most righteous things. I knew it that the moment I started all this that my actions will affect the lives of many people. I know that while I'm fighting with the Japanese rebels, that I will also take the lives of Britannian soldiers. As well as any other innocent civilians that got caught in the middle of this! I accept the fact that sacrifices are inevitable! I stand to that belief and will not hesitate to eliminate any obstacles on my path!"

"Obstacles? So Euphie was just another obstacle for you?" snapped Suzaku as C.C called for Lulu from Gawain.

"**Zero! Enough talk... the battle is still ongoing! I can detect more reinforcements coming from the Britannian side. If we didn't gather our men now and retaliate later, there's no guarantee that we can survive this battle!"**

Lelouch turned towards Gawain's direction. Yes... while he wasted time here, the war still continued. And despite the Orders growing number, it was undeniable that many of them are civilians! Better they defended the area that they have taken over and secure their own positions before anything!

Yes, there is no turning back now, Lelouch thought as he started running towards Gawain's direction...

"Are you trying to run away from this fact, Lelouch? You killed Euphie!"

Lelouch stopped.

"... you can't possibly understand what I feel right now. Do not assume that you know me."

xxx

C.C bit her lips as she noticed several KnightMare signals heading toward them in her sensor. She recognised those of Britannian army but one of them...

"Zero! Come back... we've got company! We have to leave NOW!"

xxx

Lelouch cursed under his breath as he continued running towards Gawain. A sudden sound alerted him as he turned towards the sound. C.C and Suzaku also took heed towards the incoming presence as C.C noticed an unidentified KnightMare was approaching them in a very fast speed. Lelouch frowned as he moved past the building to get a clearer look and let out a cry. That blue KnightMare... it could not be anything but Ganymede! But other than his late mother, no one had ever used it and he had thought that model had been pulled out. And the only other surviving frame of that model resided in—a realization came into his mind as he found his answer. Other than the Ashfords, who else knew about that?

He tried to run towards Gawain as he noticed Gawain's gearing up. Could he reach it in time? His ears caught some sounds as he looked back towards the direction of the mad Ganymede. The KnightMare had pulled out its assault rifle—he thought that frame did not have any weapons installed? Unless... Nina? That nerd girl had always been so bright and the fact that her grandfather had worked on the Ganymede series as well. And considering that he had killed Euphie earlier—he had noticed how Nina had grown obsessed over his half-sister...

The tip of the assault rifle glowed with power not unlike what he was accustomed to seeing in normal rifles... Can't it be? Did she modify it with her own theories and the research that she had been secretly doing? In such a short time?

Lelouch smirked at the irony.

"So will this be the end of me instead?"

xxx

"LELOUCH!", shouted C.C in the cockpit as she saw Lelouch turned his face towards her. Before she could move, a huge beam of light passed before her towards Lelouch. It missed Lelouch by a meter as the missile hit ground and exploded. She saw Lelouch being thrown away and engulfed in the blinding light before she felt Gawain being thrown away as well with the aftershock. Lancelot also crashed into another building as the missile with the power of a large atomic bomb flattened that portion of the ghetto.

xxx

Bzzzt.** "... C.C... Zero! Anyone there? Respond!" **Bzzzt.

C.C eyes snapped open as she felt Gawain being raised upwards. She turned out the communicator as she answered. "Yes Kallen, I'm all right. What's the situation?"

Guren Nishiki stepped back a little as Gawain stood on its own.

"**Everyone managed to escape after that strange big blast. Toudou-san took the leadership for a while since we couldn't contact you guys. What—"**

xxx

Kallen gasped as Gawain ignored her and proceed towards the direction where the explosion had occurred. She followed it in suit as it was the only thing she could do.

Come to think... she had only heard C.C's voice.

_Don't tell me... ZERO—!_

Gawain and Guren Nishiki surveyed the areas as dust and debris finally settled. The place was practically deserted by the Britannian army and of the Order's troop. Kallen frowned as she watched C.C coming out of Gawain and looking around the area. The place was practically flattened by the last explosion and now, it was harder to distinguish where the Ghetto and Sokkai area had been. Should she be... glad?

No... she shouldn't. She should not be glad with only this result. Because after the war is concluded, they will rebuild this land anew...

That would be the day when she should be glad.

Kallen's thoughts broke as she heard C.C's gasp through the intercom. She brought her Guren to her side as she felt her blood ran cold at the sight she saw.

Few meters before them, Zero's mask lie on the ground. Abandoned. Somewhere nearby, they saw a tattered purple and red cape which once worn by Zero; stuck under a pile of rubble.

Kallen gasped as she saw blood on the cape...

xxx

"He's not here... Lelouch was not here..." muttered C.C softly under her breath. She should be glad. He's still alive... but where was he? Looking at how much blood left on the ground, he could not have managed to go so far. Did that Lancelot pilot—?

C.C pouted by herself as she turned off the intercom. "So you"re saying that someone took him away before any real harm come to him? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Ahh, okay. Can't blame me also if I passed out... that was a big blast. Hmm...? I should lay low for now. Yes... you'd think I'd be bothered to take over a while for that prince of yours?"

C.C pondered a little as she sighed. "I'll wait for him. That prince of yours would certainly find ways to get back. I hadn't chosen him for no reason. That person has a reason to live. He wouldn't give up easily—"

She pondered again over Lelouch and the few moments that they have shared during his vulnerable times. A hint of doubt suddenly interrupted her thoughts. "No, who said I was deeply worried for him? He'll live... because he has yet to fulfil his part of the contract with me. He made his promise to me—", she said, with an air of finality that her words would hold true.

She looked up to see Guren Nishiki move to search for Zero's remains. C.C immediately stopped it as she got out of the cockpit.

"Enough, Kallen! He's not there!"

Guren Nishiki's cockpit opened as Kallen came out.

"What do you mean? How'd you know...? He might be... Zero—!"

"He's alive... somewhere. I'm sure of it."

Kallen went quiet as she stared back towards her. C.C smiled weakly at her. "I have faith in him. He will be all right. Kallen... would it be alright if I entrust the Order to you and the others?"

Kallen blinked.

"Eh... what?"

"I have something else to do. Something that Zero would have wanted me to do... even though he wouldn't have thought I'd do it anyway—", C.C said as her thoughts hovered over Lelouch. She snorted as she imagined Lelouch's reaction if he had heard her. He would have denied asking such a thing!

Kallen frowned as she remained dumbfounded.

"B-but... wait a sec! You can't possibly be serious!"

"Zero had already noticed that the Order can manage on its own. It only needed a leader to lead it. I trust you can do well to succeed him? Or maybe you could choose a suitable person to take his place. I place that responsibility to you then—." said C.C as she entered the cockpit again. Gawain started to move as Kallen got back into her Guren.

Can she do it...?, thought Kallen doubtfully as she piloted Guren Nishiki towards their rendezvous point...

xxx

"Welcome back... Suzaku!"

Suzaku blinked as Lloyd and Cecile greeted him.

"Good job." said Lloyd as he patted him on his back. Suzaku just shrugged it off. Despite the fact that the Britannian army managed to defend Tokyo and the Order pulling out of the battle for the time being, he felt no joy in the victory. Especially after what had happened earlier...

Cecile frowned as she noticed the look on Suzaku's face.

"Suzaku? Is something wrong—?" asked the woman as Suzaku hastily shook his head.

"Nothing... I'm just, tired—"

Cecile blinked, but nodded her head just as well. Perhaps he was still morose over the princess's death. She could understand that.

She patted the lads back as she tried to comfort him.

"Take your time... and rest. It's hard on everyone also. Lady Euphemia's death was after all too sudden..."

Suzaku nodded half-heartedly as he headed towards his bunkers.

xxx

"Brother... where are you?"

Nunnally wondered about her brother as she refrained herself from sleeping. It was already several hours... and he still hadn't returned home!

_Brother... please! Don't tell me something had happened to you? If it does... the nightmares I'll be seeing will not only just about mother..._

Suddenly Nunnally felt a pair of hands holding her own. She was about to call out her brother's name before realising the hands were not his.

"Sayoko... is it?"

The young woman shook his hand.

"No... it's me..."

Nunnally gasped. "C.C—! Brother... have you seen brother? He hadn't come home yet! I'm worried—", cried the girl as C.C held the little girl closer.

"Lelouch... is not here. We had separated earlier... but don't worry. I'm sure, he'll be alright..." said C.C again as Nunnally nodded meekly...

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az: Because I was bored... and my mind cannot lie idle without thinking of possible Geass plots... so I did this. This... is kinda a possible alternate ending for Geass. Yeah... and the story will divert from any supposed plot of 24/25... so I'll laugh at any reviews saying that anything that I typed here gonna happen... haha! This is all what random muse I'm having had cooked up. I know... I suck.


	2. Chapter 2:0: At World's End

az: I had never thought myself a very good storyteller. Heck, I kept coming up with a good story and end up breaking my heart all over on some really depressing scenes... till at some point made me feel hard to put it to writing. But thanks... for the reviews. I'd like more people to give opinions on my writing. I do not expect all praises... that's silly and I do not want unrealistic-totally-unrelated-worshitness from people either. But I just needed to know whether or not people like reading my piece of the writing realm... and that, by receiving responses, made me a happy camper.

Con-crit isn't a must. Just an honest review will do. And I hoped I could be given more brain to convert the scenes in my head to writing... because that's... hard. I kept losing track. If there's any mistakes... feel free to review and tell me. Because I'm my own beta and I might missed some. Anyway, thanks to all who reads... and/or review.

Oh yea... the chapter title was named that because... I have no idea what better title to put.

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be in an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario.

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Shadow Sun

Chapter 2: At world's end

By honou-no-izumi alias izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

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"Lelouch...?"

Huh?

"Lelouch... wake up, silly—"

He opened his eyes to find himself in a beautiful garden. Everything around him was strangely bright. And he totally had no recollection as to how he had arrived to this place.

"How long did you intend to sit there in a daze, Lulu?"

He gasped aloud as he turned around. A brotherly figure bowed down over him and pulled him up by the hand, forcing him to stand. He staggered as he felt a little light-headed. The man chuckled.

"That's what you get for staying under the sun too long..."

He blinked.

His brother Clovis was grinning at him like silly.

He frowned. Something was wrong in this scene. But he could not place in his mind on what was wrong.

Someone was calling at them from afar. He turned his head towards the direction to find Euphie running towards them. Again he felt uneasy but he could not place it on what was wrong. A woman followed closely behind her as Lelouch gasped. He walked towards her in a daze as he held out his hand towards her...

xxx

"Mo—ther—"

The man who had kept the vigil by the bedside woke up startled. He glanced towards the unconscious lad as he saw a stray tear falling down his cheek. He shrugged as he caressed the lad's face fondly. The man frowned as he felt warmth on his skin.

The lad's fever had not gone down still. He was still burning up.

The man took out a soaked hand towel from the side table before folding it and placed it on the lad's forehead. The lad started to mutter things again in his restless slumber. Beads of sweat kept trickling down from his forehead as the child started to moan in pain. The man sighed as he took the lad's hand and kissed it softly.

"You're safe... Lelouch. Calm yourself... I'm here."

"I'm... not... dead..."

The man blinked in surprise as he heard the child's voice. Without hesitation, he buried his face beside Lelouch's as he wrapped his hand around the child's small frame.

"No. You're not dead... Lulu. You're alive."

The man smiled again as he felt the child calming down before tightening his hold over the lad's hand...

xxx

_Don't regret... after making that decision..._

Suzaku gasped as he woke up from his nightmare. He sat up as he wrapped his arm around his legs. His thoughts wondered over the nightmare that he had. And ironically, it was neither about his father, Euphie nor was it of the deaths of almost every single member of the Kururugi household. It was about Lelouch.

In his dreams, the scenes of his previous encounters with Zero replayed again over and over. Every time he woke up suddenly from one nightmare and slept again, another scene replayed in his dreams. But unlike the actual incident that was replayed, every dream of his encounters and battle against Zero ended up with him defeating Zero and killing Lelouch. Every time in his nightmare, he would see Lelouch's broken and lifeless body on the ground and his hands soaking with the blood of the eleventh prince. And like every time those nightmares haunted him, Suzaku would wake up drenched in sweat and crying for the loss of his former friend.

Suzaku had given thoughts about this, why he had been having these dreams even more than that of his late father or anyone else whose lives that he could not save. Could he... felt remorse and felt that he was obliged to mourn the said former prince of Britannia?

But he killed Euphie!

On normal situation, this could be well understood. Lelouch was after all... his best friend.

But Lelouch killed Euphie in cold blood!

Suzaku pulled a quilt around himself. Suddenly he felt... cold. Images of Lelouch, staring back at him in accusation for everything that he did and chose to do start to haunt him again. As if those cold stares of his could really pierce his heart for real and tore it open. No, that was wrong. His heart at the moment did felt torn and hurt as if a sharp knife had pierced into it. Regardless of his personal issues... regardless of his personal agenda, Lelouch was an important person in his life. Not saying that Euphie was not... nor the rest of the people he cared about, but that was still an undeniable fact. No hatred could ever possibly destroy that, no matter how great it is. He had said earlier that he had felt what intense hatred was and vowed to commit murder in the sky. Even then, that intense hatred could not fully overcome the sorrows that had still existed in his heart which what had prevented him to commit the act of murder that he had vowed to do.

He wondered... if that was the same thing that Lulu had felt. That time... despite the earlier outburst from him that made it seemed that he had finally snapped to insanity, Lelouch did appear full of remorse during that last moments that they had talked. As if he had carried the burden of the world on his back.

Suzaku laughed bitterly. "Damn you Lulu. Even in death... would you not let me be?" he muttered to himself.

His thoughts wandered towards the last dream he had that had jerked him awake earlier. It was about that incident when the whole academy had gone into frenzy because of Arthur the cat. In that dream, he and Lelouch had raced towards the bell tower and reaching the roof. But unlike what had actually happened in the past, in this dream... he could not catch Lelouch's hand in time and he had fallen and broke his neck. In that dream... he had let Lelouch die.

That dream made him think. Had that had actually happened... would Euphie be alive still? The incident in Narita would not have happen and Shirley's father's life would not have been taken. As well as numerous other lives! But in return...

He knew what other lives would be lost instead. Come to think, had he failed saving Lulu's life that time... he wouldn't be able to stay there anymore as well. Things would have ended differently.

How fate can be so cruel. The more he think about everything that had happened up to this point as well as other consequences of it had it happened differently, the more that he felt... that things would have been better happen as it had been. The possible outcomes that he had thought of in his mind had turned even more frightening and worse than the original outcome.

But then... would that mean, that it was Euphie's fate to die so early? What kind of justification was that?

Suzaku sighed. Tonight would be another sleepless night again... after all.

xxx

She glanced outside as she remained at the balcony, watching her surroundings. It has been two days since the Tokyo coup detach happened at the city and she was surprised that this area received less impact from the incident. She wondered if it had been because the Order had proceeded to make their move further north and securing those territories as theirs while leaving the area near Ashford intact or the fact that The Brittanian fleet did a very good job protecting the area.

C.C sighed. Perhaps Kallen had convinced the Order to leave this place alone. Most of the people here were younglings after all and Kallen's friends were also here. Hmmm...

She heard the sliding door slide open as she turned around. She smiled.

Nunnally cocked her head towards her. "C.C... you're here, right?"

"Yes I am... Nunnally."

"Did you see Sayako? I can't find her since yesterday."

C.C frowned. The clubhouse had several other servants managing the place so she hadn't notice much among them. But then again, yes... that Sayako person. She was the one taking care of Nunnally most of the time. Come to think about it, ever since she had returned to the clubhouse after putting Gawain hidden some place... she had not seen Sayako around. So did something happen?

"C.C, can you help me? Since Sayako wasn't around—"

C.C blinked. "What do you want me to help?" she asked as Nunnally held out an origami crane. C.C cast the girl a puzzled look.

"Unh..."

"It's a crane. Sayako told me before, that if one fold a thousand of these one can have their wish granted."

C.C smiled again as she knelt beside the girl. "So... what is your wish, Nunnally?"

Nunnally shrugged.

"I... wished for a kind world, to exist. But... right now—"

"—you wished for Lelouch's safety, aren't you?"

Nunnally nodded. "I wanted brother... to be safe, and happy. Brother had always protected me and cared for me, to me... he's the kindest person I ever knew. But ever since Mother... died, brother had never really seemed happy..."

"Hmm—? I thought he was happy... he had you, and the others in the student council—", said C.C as Nunnally nodded.

"Yes he does but because of who we are... how we had to hide our real identities, there are times I felt that brother had always taken the entire burden into himself. I know that he had been happy, living here with me... with Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, Suzaku, Nina and everyone but when it was just between the both of us; he always... seems like he tried so hard to be strong for me. Sure, we had fun while spending time with each other, he would laugh with me—but other times, we'd talk about our past and on mother... and I'd noticed how brother had always kept his emotions bottled inside. It's... not all right to keep everything bottled inside your heart, isn't it? It hurts... especially if you face it all by yourself. But brother... he always there whenever I was depressed, yet he never allowed anyone to comfort him during his down moment. It made me feel... useless. I wanted to do something for him."

"—and now, knowing that he was somewhere out there—knowing that anything might have happened to him—it pains my heart. If brother had died—"

C.C placed a hand on her head.

"He won't. I think... Lelouch won't let himself die so easily, he had you. Hadn't he?"

Nunnally smiled. "You're a kind person... C.C—", said Nunnally as the C.C chuckled to herself. Her... kind? Perhaps. C.C stood as she started pushing Nunnally's wheel chair around towards the door.

"So, shall we go? Making the origami cranes... you'd teach me, won't you Nunnally?"

Nunnally nodded excitedly as C.C followed the girl. She smiled in relief as the other girl strolled towards her room.

"You must have been proud... Marianne, to have such kind-hearted children—", she mused by herself as Nunnally turned around towards her, puzzled. C.C smiled as she joined the girl towards her room...

o

o

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az: was listening to various angst-inducing tracks that includes Geass OSTs, Jigoku Shoujo OSTs as well as Linkin Park's What I've done and other songs to get the inspiration running. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone the way this plot is going... and the plots even goes as far as going further pass the intended ending in my head... oh dear. Even then... I'm not making a sequel out of this (crazy you) and concentrate in the other prequel Geass as well as other plans. Thanks if you enjoyed this piece. You made my day.

A short chapter. Because the third would probably explain the missing scene in this.


	3. Chapter 2:5: The other side of the Moon

az: It crossed my mind that some scenes are left out and I can"t put it in chapter 2 or 3... so like a Geass tradition... will do the between the scenes chapter. XD. No... no recaps. XP

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I"m only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be in a Alternate Ending/What-if scenario..

* * *

Shadow Sun

Chapter 2.75: On the other side of the moon

By honou-no-izumi alias izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

Lloyd let out a whistle as some technician brought in a very questionable Knightmare into the garage. It struck him because he recognised the model as Ganymede. But as he remembered, the prototype that was once used by the deceased Empress Marianne was still kept intact at the homeland. So how did this machine came to be here... oh! He recollected seeing this at Milly"s school festival, the one that Suzaku used to make the largest pizza dough.

"A-ah, excuse me... may I know how you people acquired this thing?", asked Lloyd as the technicians shrugged to each other.

"We—found this somewhere near the destroyed Sokkai area while looking out for survivors. We had thought it was odd so we took it back. Pity for the girl inside though, we do not know what happened to her. Probably had snapped a nerve or something, she was mumbling some incoherent things like Lady Euphemia and exacting revenge. We sent her to the nearest mental hospital anyhow, seeing that she'"d gone too far than just crazy. No use getting out any info from her..."

"Oh, I see...", he said as he continued eyeing the Knightmare. "—can you leave it to me? I'd like to study this machine..."

"Very well...", said one of the techs as the three men left the place.

xxx

His mind had always been as calm as it always had. Today was not an exception. Today should not be an exception. Yet, he felt a sudden pull in his heart over something.

No, more to the situation that was happening in Area 11. Ah, should this be a matter of concern to him? After all, a number of his children had been involved in this. Two dead; the latter one just recently died. The other two had been trying to regain the control of the region. Yes, when he thought about it he had been thinking about his children. No, he had not been thinking about the four. He was thinking about the other two. Particularly, he had been thinking about the oldest of the two.

Lately, he had been thinking of that child. Regardless of the reports that he had received seven years ago, he had not truly believe the content saying that they have died. A fatherly thought? How long since had he ceased being a father to all of his children? He had been a ruler before he was a father and he had been so to his children. He could not particularly be sentimental about it. To him, how his children carry themselves in their lives would determine their worth to him. Death of one or the other would not matter much. It just showed how strong they were, how much they would fight to survive. If any of them fall that just showed him that they were weak thus death was one of the consequences.

Oh, and he had been thinking of this one particular child.

His youngest prince and although that was quite questionable considering what had happened in the past; the child that was also his most prized of all his sons. Yes, that child was the one he had most been proud of, regardless of how people may view it based on how he had treated the child in public.

Lelouch had been outstandingly bright, comparable to his brothers; and had a mind of his own. He had high hopes on the boy's potential. There was a setback though. That child was too kind. That for a future ruler; was not a very good trait to have. There were all sorts of people in this world, each with its own different manner and policies. In this world where the strong prevails over the weak, kindness would only pose as a weakness. It was because of this that he had made a lot of plans for him to have him learn all about the world; and how the world functioned.

It pained him when that tragedy happened. Nevertheless, he had gone on with his plans for Lelouch. The situation had changed but he would not back away from that. Just a change of words and his words would forever mark the child's heart till the end of time. He always knew that this child of his had looked up to him so much, no matter whether it was love or hate that was to be the root of the respect. He would have loved to see what impact of his words could bring change onto that child.

It was because of that; that he did not believe those old reports.

And now, he wanted to see the result that would rise. To do that though, he had to get all of the information he needed.

"Your highness?"

He grunted as he turned towards one of his advisors again.

"It seemed there was a peculiar movement again—"

"Schneizel?", he asked. The man nodded. He smiled in return.

"Very well. Then leave it as it is. Call V.V back again, he was more of use being here than over there. And you may excuse yourself..."

"You are not ordering us to observe Lord Schneizel?"

No answer was given to the man as he excused himself before the emperor.

"Shall I look forward to this development?", muttered the Emperor of Britannia to himself as he glanced towards the setting sun.

_Should I... Marianne?_

xxx

"A-ah! I'm so bored..."

He sighed. Eventhough he know that it wasn't anyone"s fault, but he could not help being bored the hell out of it. He wished that the world would return to the peaceful times of before. Of the times that he and Lulu would go around the town, gambling and challenging random nobles out of their money through a game of chess. Despite it was mostly Lulu"s work and he just reaping in the rewards. How he missed those times...

Rivalz kicked away the stray rock along his path. Where on earth did that idiot went to? Making him worry like this, making everyone worry about him by disappearing without a trace. He had cropped out a theory earlier, that Zero might be Lelouch because both of them disappeared at the same time but then changed his mind. But he was not the only one disappearing. Kallen... as well as Nina had also gone missing. What the hell was happening to the world? Would their old peaceful life returned to normal after all of this are over?

With a lot of his friends gone missing and acting differently, he doubt that wish would ever come to reality.

_On the other hand, why is Suzaku not coming back to see us?_, thought Rivalz as he sauntered towards the boy's dormitory.

xxx

What did she meant that time that all now depend on me? That just not making any sense! How could I alone manage the Order and lead the fight by herself? It was too much a responsibility! She already felt as if she had failed Zero.

Kallen sighed.

The morale in the Order were dropping. There were rumors flying about of Zero's death. And Britannian army were fighting back with even more force and with Lancelot leading them in the battle as well as aid from Lady Cornelia and Lord Schneizel. And the Order kept losing one battle after another.

xxx

_Zero... I cannot do this alone! Where are you?_

"Giving up Kallen? That so not sounding like you..."

Kallen gasped as she turned around towards the sound of the voice.

"Lelouch—? How... what are you doing here?", asked Kallen in alarm as Lelouch sat beside her. The lad chuckled.

"You looked like the weight of the world reside on your back, take it easy. Relax... or you'll end up looking like an old lady—", teased Lelouch, totally ignoring her earlier questions. Kallen's face flushed red. He laughed again before suddenly looked away as if in deep thought. Kallen frowned at the sudden change of attitude.

"Lelouch, wha—"

"Don"t worry too much! I'm sure that you can manage the Order by yourself. I have faith in you.", said Lelouch suddenly as he turned and smiled at her. Kallen blinked.

_What? How... don"t tell me that Lelouch knew the fact that I'm part of the Order of the Black Knights? If not, why did he suddenly say this when I happened to be thinking about the Order right now? _

Her thoughts were in a mess. Had she been reckless? Had she been careless so much that her identity was exposed easily by him? She thought she had managed to deceive him last time...

"Lelouch, I—"

Kallen suddenly froze as Lelouch suddenly gave her a kiss on her cheeks. She turned towards him as he started to say something. Kallen frowned for she could not hear his voice as everything around her become darker and darker...

xxx

"—llen!"

She felt herself being shaken by someone.

"Kallen... wake up!"

Kallen shook her head as she looked up towards Ogi. "Wha—?"

Ogi sighed. "It's about time you woke up. I thought you had been in deep thought or something the way you were sitting upright like that. It took me a while to realize that you were sleeping—"

_I was... asleep? Then just now... was it a dream?_

Ogi frowned. "Kallen? Is something wrong?", he asked as Kallen immediately shook her head. "—I know it's been hard to you as much to everyone right now. What with Zero gone missing... Kallen, do you want to take some rest or something? I'll handle the matter with the Order by myself then..."

"Ah... Ogi, you don't have to—I can't put it all on you—"

"Don't worry! You take some rest, Kallen... leave it all to us. You've done enough already for the time being. Don't push yourself too much. Don't forget that you have all of us to support you. All of us placed our trust on you and we know that you had the best of intentions for the Order. But you must really rest... we can't have you getting sick now, do we?"

_I have faith in you... _

Kallen blinked as Lelouch's words in her dream returned to mind. Wiping the stray tear that suddenly started to fall, she smiled at Ogi.

"Yes—"

A sudden explosion distracted her thoughts as everyone were thrown into chaos. Kallen cursed aloud as she ran towards her own Knighmare...

o

o

* * *

az: If anyone reading this, I basing some of the events based on the lil trans I got from the novel through the LJ comm. As well as the drama CDs and Picture books. And since some of the new info sort of filled in the holes that I noticed earlier in the Geass story, knowing it sort of provided me with a stronger plotbase. If there was a need to update the summary with the Spoilers alert... please tell me. Since I will assume that all of what I"m writing will mostly contain spoilers for most of the later episodes and the picture dramas anyway... thus made me not bothering to put the spoilers alert thing.


	4. Chapter 3:0: Pinnacle of life and Death

az: I think I gonna start breaking the chapters in two and post it with decimal numberings for the sheer love of it and since some of my timelines will be complicated and overlapping. Thanks for the reviews. And now I really hope I did not screw this plot thing.

Edit '08: Since by the time I rewrite this R2 is already starting well I might borrow some elements in the series but this fic will still be AU and different than canon. Changes had been done starting from the end of 2.5. Feel free to reread or abandon this fiction to your own leisure. But yes. I now have come out of my writer's block.

* * *

Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario...

* * *

Shadow Sun

Chapter 3: At the Pinnacle of life and Death

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

Another day another battle...

Suzaku sighed as he climbed out of Lancelot's cockpit. He walked towards the resting area as he took a cup of water and sat down to drink. He sighed again as he took a breather. Everything hurt. Every limb and muscle in his body ached. It was all because of this war.

It was hard enough that he was fighting the Order alongside Britannians. To think that he was helping Britannians to subdue the Japanese revolutionist, hit his heart harder. Ever since that fateful day, the majority of the Japanese had turned their allegiance towards the Order. Now it was not just some small terrorist group fighting the Britannian administration—it was the whole population! All of this chaos, all of this started because of Zero's existence. If Zero did not exist, this nightmare would not have started. But reality was not that hopeful. It cannot be denied that this nightmare had happened. Nothing can change that fact now. Denying it—and wishing for a different thing to happen instead would not bring back the dead. It will not bring back Euphie from the dead.

Hah. Even as Zero now no longer leading the Order, nothing had changed. The Order had continued to take over some parts of the region and drove the Britannians away from those areas. As if Zero was still leading them. He had heard rumours. That after the news that Zero had gone missing the Order had been led by another person. He even heard that Toudou-sensei had now taken over the leadership for the Order's military activities.

Zero.

Unbelievable. Just because of this one person, the whole world had started moving to a completely different direction. Because of his daring act of fighting against Britannia, now everyone was rising against the empire. Just because of one person.

Lelouch.

Why did Zero have to be Lelouch?

The memories of seeing the back of his former friend flashed again into his mind. Memories of his retreating form before the lad stopped and the flames consumed him. When the flames died down and dust still floating in the air, he had Lancelot scout around the area. No trace of Lelouch's body can be found. He found his mask instead, its visor cracked and Zero's cape several meters away from it. Some traces of blood could be found near the area. But there was no Lelouch. It was possible that he had survived but with the thick layer of dust surrounding the area—it was nearly impossible for someone to survive from that. Though, it could be that he might be trapped under the rubble...

Suzaku shook his head from the image.

Zero was his enemy. But he cannot deny the fact that Lelouch was his friend. Thinking on how he might have died did not make it easier for him to swallow. And his mind hovered over Nunnally.

For the time being, she—along with the rest of the Ashford students was safe. The area where the academy situated was after all located near the military facilities. The fact that many of Lady Cornelia's men stood guarding the area had also protected the academy from danger. Despite of that, Suzaku dared not to drop by and take a look at Nunnally. That young girl would have certainly asked about Lelouch and he hadn't the heart to tell her—or the student council members that he might be dead. Even though he was not the one directly responsible for causing Lelouch's death—indirectly, he did. Lelouch would have not been out of his KnightMare had he not wanted to talk to him. And that was the main reason that he could not face Nunnally. Lelouch had been everything for Nunnally. In fact he was everything that Nunnally ever needed. To think that he had caused Nunnally grief; despite how the girl had tried to cheer him up in the past. It was unacceptable!

Lelouch. Why did you have to—why did you have to be that person!

xxx

Suzaku blinked as he glimpsed Lord Schneizel coming out towards the corridors. He immediately made himself scarce as he spied the room from which the man had come out off. He frowned as he noticed that it was one of Avalon's med-room. But he had not heard of anyone getting injured... more over people whom the prince would take to himself to check on them personally. And as far as he had remembered, Euphie's body had already been taken away earlier and was on the way to be sent to the homeland.

The Japanese cautiously sneaked pass the corridors towards the room that he had spied and entered it. When he turned to see the person that was lying on the bed, it took him all of his willpower to not swear aloud. Suzaku Kururugi could not believe his eyes. No wonder he could not find any dead body...

So this was where Lelouch Lamperouge had been. Who would have thought?

xxx

Funny to think that your thoughts would venture towards something and it happened as you had wished and then you wanted it to happen the other way. Because that was exactly what he had been thinking now. Deep inside his heart he had hoped that Lelouch would survive, yet—he wished that Euphie's killer would just die. Hah—why couldn't life be any less complicated?

Suzaku turned on the switch that controlled the glass cover as the cover retracted itself. He stared towards Lelouch as he barely heard the sound of his soft breathing. He looked as frail as Euphie was but unlike her, Lelouch was not injured as fatally. How he had wished that it was Euphie instead before him rather than...

A crazy thought hit him suddenly as Suzaku removed the oxygen mask from Lelouch's face and wrapped both his hand around Lelouch's neck. Slowly and steadily he applied pressure onto his hand as he slowly strangled the person once known as Zero before him. Lelouch reacted unconsciously as his breathing become harder. As Lelouch became weaker, the machine that monitored his heart beat suddenly emitted a loud sound. That jerked Suzaku out off his trance. As if just realizing his actions, he immediately let go of his hand from Lelouch's neck.

Suzaku felt a slight feeling of contempt towards himself again as he buried his face onto Lelouch's chest.

"I'm sorry... Lulu—"

Suzaku cried as he held on Lelouch body lightly.

"You... are really... hopeless, Suzaku. I thought you said I am your most hated—"

Suzaku gasped as he pulled away from Lelouch's side. Lelouch slowly opened his eyes as he stared blankly at him. He turned his eyes towards the ceiling.

"So... I had lived, yet again. Who was the idiot—"

The door slide open as Lord Schneizel entered the room. He blinked as he saw Suzaku in. Before he could say anything, Lelouch turned away and closed his eyes. Schneizel cocked his brow at this.

"So this is the response I've got in return for saving your life—"

Suzaku blinked.

"Who asked you? Don't expect me to go head over heels in gratitude at you. Besides... hasn't it been awhile? How did you feel to see again a brother you've thought long dead?—"

Schneizel flinched a little. He shook his head. "There is no need to be so aggressive. Lelouch... you are not my captive, I—"

Lelouch turned around and glared at him. "Not your captive? And I missed the point on why had you rescued **Zero** of all people and acted as if it was normal for someone to save the enemy out of one's own kindness! And what of these restraints? **Release me**!"

Schneizel blinked as he noticed Lelouch's glowing left eye. "That—_yes, I'll release you_.", said Schneizel suddenly as Lelouch felt the restraints coming off of him. He groaned as he pulled himself up to a sitting position with difficulty. Suzaku pulled out his gun as Lelouch glared at him. The sudden movement made him wince.

Lord Schneizel shook his head as the sudden bout of haziness left him.

"What... ah? When did you—? And your left eye..."

Lelouch stared blankly at his half brother. Schneizel glanced towards Suzaku and back at him as he realized the answer. Could it be that he had unknowingly deactivated the restraints holding Lelouch at the bedside? Should be—else how Lelouch could be doing it himself? And judging on some of the strange loopholes that he had found earlier regarding his investigations on Zero; he had heard of similar occurrence. And if his memory served correct, Lelouch had just been taking to him earlier—until to a point that he did not remember what more had been said. So this was the secret to Zero's power?

"—so, this was how you had managed in the past?", said the blond man as Lelouch frowned.

Lelouch snorted. "You managed to catch up so fast. I can't help but be surprised, but at least now I don't need to be careful too much with my words. So what do you want to do with me now... Schneizel? And why did you saved me? E—she said that she never told anyone else about me. About me being Zero. So how—?"

Schneizel frowned again as he forced Lelouch to look at him. "She—? Did you mean to tell me that Euphie knew of your identity?"

Suzaku looked up towards this statement as Lelouch remained silent. Suzaku continued glaring at Lelouch's direction as Schneizel stared straight into his eyes. Seeing that Lelouch gave no sign of answering, he released him. He sighed before turning towards Suzaku.

"Leave this room for now... Kururugi."

"But your High—yes, your Highness.'

Suzaku bowed before casting a dark look towards Lelouch. He left hurriedly after that. Schneizel walked towards the exit and closed the electronic door. He turned back towards Lelouch. Lelouch watched the scene with slight interest as he pondered about his brother.

"Since that time when I've seen you face to face, I had a feeling about you. I've read all of the reports on Zero and noticed that Zero not only seemed to want to fight Britannia, but more like... to fight against the Imperial Family. It was because of that I had saved you. I wanted to know the reason behind it. I wanted to know who was this person having such a heavy grudge and enmity and is crazy enough to dare making such a bold attempt to challenge the Emperor himself!"

"I had not expected that Zero would be the half-brother whom I thought had long died—"

Lelouch snickered. "What? Are you disappointed? That I had not died?"

As soon as he said it, Lelouch felt himself thrown to the side. He pulled himself up again as he placed a hand over his burning cheek.

"I ask you again! Did Euphie knew—no, she knew for a long time, isn't it? That's why she had not been afraid of Zero. Then did you—to Euphie, did you turn her into _that? _Why... aside from Nunnally, I thought you were quite close to Euphie so why—"

"Does it matter anymore now? It doesn't, does it? Euphie... is already beyond this world now. So you shouldn't have bothered asking for that answer. You could not change what had happened."

Lelouch glanced back towards Schneizel. His eyes had now become glassy, revealing nothing behind them. Schneizel frowned as he sensed something deeper.

'Lelouch... tell me what really happened that time between you and Euphie. Something tell me that you had not intended for it to happen that way—"

"Enough of that topic! You still had not answered my questions! Why did you capture me... Schneizel?" Lelouch shouted.

He sighed.

"—how long had I been here? In this span of time, the Order would not have lie still only because I had gone missing. The ball has already been set rolling... they would have just continued the fight even without me. The Order's strength could match the Britannians at the rate that it had. You and the rest of the higher ups would have had harder time if you wanted to settle things peacefully with the rest of the Japanese population. Especially after that Specially Administrated Zone incident—"

"You know that isn't completely true. You should not try fighting it anymore. Our army had managed to capture a lot of the Order's members. Even if there were many still in hiding and managed to elude our men, it's a fact already that your efforts has failed. Japan had fallen again... this time by your hands. You should know better how much your influence had affected your men's morale. Our forces had it easy with the task of apprehending most of the Order's members. Even now, rumours had been spreading about Zero's death!"

"You—!"

Lelouch sighed. Even though he could not believe how easily the tides had turned against him, he could not deny the truths in Schneizel's words. The Order's strength... had been mostly because he had been leading them. Without him... the Order would crumble as easily as a house of cards.

But wait a sec—him being here and Schneizel being the second prince—wouldn't it be suspicious if no one had any knowledge of this?

"You—", Schneizel and Lelouch spoke at the same time as Lelouch looked away.

"You've... changed, little brother. What made you turn like this?"

The lad snorted.

"I had lived. That's all you need to know. Why would you care anyway? Would you want me to lie still and wait for my death? It would be far more easier to do than fighting and leading this rebellion. I couldn't count how many times that I could have died in the past—"

"Lelouch... enough!"

"Why should you be concerned? After all it was the Grand Emperor the one sending me here to my death. Whether or not I had died or whatever I did after that should not be of your concern. In fact... shouldn't you be glad? One less successor to take the throne... one useless pawn to be discarded."

Lelouch snorted. "That made me think... me being here, do you want to make use of me?", he asked as he looked up towards Schneizel before laughing over the irony. "What's the use? I have no more value to you Britannians other than as a pawn."

Schneizel frowned.

"Had you really lost yourself... Lelouch?"

"That is one very stupid question, my dear Lord Schneizel el Britannia."

xxx

Suzaku paced around outside of the corridors as he waited for any signs of Lord Schneizel coming out. Somehow having him and Lelouch inside one room was making him worry. He had heard it from V.V that Lulu's Geass was that of absolute command. He could make just about anyone to follow his orders without resistance. Just like Euphie.

He frowned. If Schneizel could not convince Lelouch to stop his act, who else could—Suzaku suddenly thought of something as he ran back towards the room. He heard a shout as Lord Schneizel walked out of the room.

Schneizel gave Lelouch a cold look as he spoke. "Think about it Lelouch... You have enough time to do it now—" he said as he closed the door and locked it. Suzaku could barely hear Lelouch curse before the door shut him out. Sounds of banging could be barely heard as Lord Schneizel started to walk away. Suzaku stood still for a while as he heard the sound of banging becoming scarce and there were no more. Perhaps Lelouch had exhausted himself trying to ram the door. He chased after Lord Schneizel.

"My lord... wait!"

Schneizel looked at him in concern. "My apologies Kururugi about just now I—"

"—About Lelouch, perhaps I could suggest something to make him change his mind..."

xxx

"BASTARD SCHNEIZEL OPEN UP! OPEN THIS FRIGGIN—"

Lelouch gasped as he felt his strength gradually disappearing. He collapsed onto the floor and hissed as the pain from his injuries returned. He glanced towards the ceiling.

"Heh... so this is as far that I could go now?" he muttered aloud. He sighed. Schneizel's words started replaying themselves inside of his mind.

The Order was falling apart. Although many of them still continued the fight, Britannian troops had managed to capture a lot of the militant Japanese serving under the Order. The ones that had managed to escape were now scattered and in hiding. And just recently another ambush had been made on one of the hiding place of the Order. Schneizel had mentioned that many of his men had been captured. Even Toudou. Lelouch sighed. He had overestimated his own capabilities. It's true that in reality, the Order's strength were not any less stronger than Britannia's but it cannot be denied that in terms of skills, the Order would lose out against them. He had overlooked the fact that the reason the Order had been strong all this time was because of his existence alone. If not because of him, the Order would still be a small guerrilla resistance group; unable to do more but only defending themselves against Britannia.

He wondered about the other people. What would that witch be doing now while he had been here, inside this place? What about the rest of the Order? What about Kallen? Had she been caught yet? And Nunnally... it was already several days since. She must have been worried about him. What a great pinch he's in now.

Lelouch sighed helplessly as he felt his eyes growing heavy and fell asleep at the corner of the room.

xxx

The day after.

Kallen staggered towards the driveway. She had not expected their locations to be found out so suddenly. But that did not matter now, there were nothing else they could do to change the situation. At least not all of them had been caught. She had managed to tell the others to go into hiding until they could regain their strength once more. So until then, she should find somewhere to hide.

'_Ashford Academy?'_ mused Kallen by herself. No, she could not risk it. That place was near the area that Britannian army had been stationed. Too dangerous!

She sighed again. How was everyone back there? Were they safe? Millay, Shirley, Rivalz, Nunnally... and Lelouch. Her thoughts went back towards the random dream she had. She snickered. Why on earth had her thoughts wandered towards him again?

She shrugged. All of the Student Council members should be alright. They had nothing to do with her resistance and there were no reason for Britannia to hurt them, no harm should befall them. Kallen glanced towards another direction of the city. It seemed that despite recent battle, the destruction level was not that bad in these areas. Already she could see some group of workers starting on the rebuilding works for the city. Her eyes finally landed towards the direction of the hospital that she had sent her mother in. Silently, she prayed for her mother to remain safe until they finally succeeded in their revolution.

Kallen was about to leave as a sudden movement caught her eye. A small carrier escorted by Britannian police entered the gates of Ashford Academy. Kallen frowned. _For what reason did they came to the academy anyway? _Kallen did not have to ponder long as she hid herself in a secluded corner of the building. Two Britannian soldiers passed by near her, chatting idly. She paid them no attention until the point that she heard Zero being mentioned. Kallen turned as she tried to catch whatever they were talking about.

xxx

"—you heard it right? Or was this just rumours. My Lord won't do such things—"

"But it was still suspicious. I've heard that since that Zero bastard went MIA, Lord Schneizel had been seen acting strange. It's like he was doing something in secret—"

"Hush. You have no right to question the authority. Perhaps my Lord Schneizel was trying to think up ways to capture the remaining rebels. You know they were like lizards—"

Kallen formed a fist behind her as she strained to keep her temper down. Damned Britannians...

"But hadn't you been wondering as well? Lady Cornelia and her knights had personally come to that school over there under cover—"

The other guy quickly nudged the other in alarm.

"Silence! This was supposed to be a secret. The brass will get our heads if something goes wrong. Let's go—"

The two soldiers hurriedly left the area as Kallen came out of hiding. She frowned.

_Why on earth Lady Cornelia came all this way to Ashford?_

Something was not right. But she would get to the bottom of that later. What bothered her were the stuffs mentioned by the soldiers earlier. What was that Britannian prince thinking of doing? Perhaps he had captured Zero during the chaos few days ago? After all, Zero had since gone missing without a trace... and she had never believed the hearsays about Zero being killed.

Kallen bit her lips. It was a shallow chance but it was worth the risk. She'll save Zero for everyone's sake! With that resolve, Kallen disappeared into the shadows.

o

o

* * *

az: Been a while since I wrote this... and Episode 24-25 came and I had been stuck. And a long wait there was... till now R2 is out. And despite I tried to convince myself that this fic won't be influenced by R2 as well as ep24-25 of R1, can't help it to be affected as I realized that the way that I had wrote this earlier would be a bit unrealistic and some of the portrayal had been off. Well... the firsts few chapters would still be unchanged. Chapter 2.5 will have a bit of diversion and starting this chapter, the story will change a lot than in the original chapters.


	5. Chapter 3:5: Turning Point of Fate

az: Redoing the chapters. XP. At least this time I have a clear idea on how to do the middle part of this fic as well as the end of this fic. Other than the fact that it had been my writer's block that made this fic on hiatus... life also had a role. Was dividing time for job search, cosplay, fics and other stuffs. Last year had been pretty busy.

So now I'll give Lulu and every one my attention now! XD. And yeah... I think Lulu and Kallen threw me that writer's block as punishment for making them too emo. XO

* * *

Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario..

* * *

Shadow Sun

Chapter 3.65: Turning point of Fate

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

Suzaku cast a faraway look towards the carrier driving out of the building. He sighed.

A part of him felt bad for making that suggestion. A part of him felt that this was the right choice. There should be no point of continuing this pointless struggle. Only innocent lives would be lost and still nothing could be changed of the situation. Japan did not need Zero to continue this fight.

Doing this, he had not hoped to be forgiven by him. He might not be able to reach out towards Zero but he might be able to reach out to Lelouch. He did not want to believe that he had lost this precious friend. He had already lost a very precious person... he did not want to lose anymore people!

Suzaku looked up towards the room before him. He blinked in surprise. It seemed that without knowing, he had sauntered towards the med room Lulu was in. He sighed. Might as well take a look over him. From the day before and this morning, he had been hearing sounds of screaming and banging coming from the room. But since afternoon, there had been no sound coming from the room, he could not help feeling concerned. He shrugged, Lord Schneizel had told him of the security password to the room after all.

But Suzaku had not expected that the moment he had opened the door, Lelouch's body would tumble over. He gasped as the sight of the unconscious lad startled him.

"What—how?"

He was speechless. Aside from the new eyepatch tied securely, covering Lelouch's left eye; the young prince's arms and legs had been tied as well.

"—It can't be helped. We cannot risk him using his Geass. Who knows if at that the time we had other person with us, he would use his powers... we still do not know the extent or nature of his power. Other than that, I hadn't the heart to force him into a straitjacket—"

Suzaku nodded as he greeted the second prince. 'B-but... to the extent of hurting him this much, I—"

Schneizel frowned. "What—?" he cried as he hurried over to his side. True enough, Lelouch's body was covered with bruises and blood stained his shirt. He quickly carried the lad in as her ushered Suzaku to help out.

Schneizel glanced towards the closed door as he noticed the remaining marks on it. He had not imagined Lelouch would hurt himself so much. Then again, Lelouch had always had this strong sense of determination in him. He must have slammed himself onto the door a lot of times until his injuries opened up again.

"Kururugi... watch over him. I have to attend to other business."

"Yes sir..."

xxx

Marianne the Flash, otherwise known formerly as Marianne Vi Britannia. His one and only mother which was also his one and only hero. Her gentleness and kindness had always been a comfort to him. Her courage and wisdom had always motivated him to strive to be the best. To try and outshine his other brothers and sisters so that he would be noticed. His mother... had always been his light, guiding him. Protecting him.

His only wish was to be able to protect her in return.

"Lelouch..."

The child Lelouch turned around and smiled as he ran towards his mother. He immediately embraced his mother and the mother chuckled fondly. Muffled giggles caught his attention as he looked around.

Young Clovis and Euphemia giggled again, teasing him. Little Lelouch pouted and started chasing after them before Marianne pulled him back. He turned around.

"What is it mother?"

The boy frowned as his mother suddenly appeared sad. Marianne knelt before him.

"Am I that important to you?"

He blinked in confusion. "Mother... I don't—"

Marianne embraced him suddenly. Lelouch gasped. Suddenly he was no longer the 10-year old prince that was Marianne's only son. He was now in his 17-year old self and before him, his mother sat with him; addressing him with sorrow in her voice.

"Am I that important so much that you'd sacrifice yourself for me?"

"Mother... I—"

"Lelouch... please do not destroy yourself."

He gasped as he reached out towards his mother. "Mother, I did not—"

The moment he stepped out, everything around him returned to darkness in an instant and Lelouch felt himself falling towards an empty void.

xxx

Lelouch opened her eyes slightly. It seemed someone had moved him. His body felt numb but that sensation was nothing new. He closed his eyes again.

He wondered what that dream had meant. In this dreams, he saw Clovis and Euphie again. And his mother appeared as well. But unlike previous dreams, this time his mother had even talked to him and it was not about the past memories. It was of the present.

Why did he dream of Clovis and Euphie? Was it because a part of him still yearned for them? Why did he dreamed of his mother... asking all of those words to him? Was it his inner conscience, trying to tell him something? Or an inner thought and repressed guilt manifesting itself into his dreams...

Did those dreams tried to tell him that his actions in the past were wrong? What is the right thing to do then? How do one justify what is right and what is wrong? If being powerless is evil, is having power equals justice? Does the loser meaning they were in the wrong and the victor always in the right?

He had never liked the principles of beliefs that his father had adopted. The world was not only divided between the strong and the weak; predator and prey. Just because one was strong, did it entitled the strong to oppress the weak. Just because one was weak, it does not mean that any rights should be stripped off them. Nor did it mean that those who are weak should be forced to live miserable as the strong trampled over them. Because he could not stand that sort of principle did he dare to renounce his title, seven years ago.

His decision to fight back and lead the Japanese in the rebellion against Britannia had also been because of this same reason. His own personal grudge may have been a drive for him to take his stance of fighting Britannia but that did not mean that his action was wrong completely.

Schneizel had suggested that he should work together with him. The incident involving Euphie may have tarnished the trust the Japanese people have for Britannia to regain their independence but that did not mean that the situation could not be fixed. The Japanese people might have lost all faith on Britannia but not to the Order. Having him... Zero, work with them; would probably be able to smoothen the situation. If the Order be the ones that perform the action, the Japanese people would not object. In a way, Schneizel was using him to fix the current chaotic situation. He had heard a bit from Euphie on how Schneizel had made his plans but to this extent, Lelouch could not help to feel at lost. From this way of thinking, he could achieve much result without taking even more casualties than needed.

Japan's liberation could be achieved and he could let go of the country to achieve his true goal. To defeat his father.

As if things were that easy. Schneizel's plan might have been good but to actually execute it, it might be hard. That person would not have allowed it to be achieved so easily.

"Lelouch—? You're awake, aren't you? Don't pretend to be asleep any more."

Lelouch opened his left eye that was not covered as he leered towards Suzaku. "What do you wa—!"

Before he could finish talking, Suzaku had raised him up into a sitting position. Lelouch glared at him. "What do you want, Suzaku?"

Suzaku flinched at the harsh tone Lelouch used in pronouncing his name.

"You... can't you stop? Japan... should not need Zero to free them. This thing you did... was so much like my father did before. You already knew what had happen in the end, why are you trying to do the same thing? Japan's liberation... about that, please let me handle that. There should be another way of achieving the thing that we want. I've told you before, isn't it? I'll change Britannia from within... I believe that was not impossible. Lelouch, I don't know what your brother asked you to do but I really hoped—Lord Schneizel had suggested something that could help me achieve my goal. I'm sure what he planned for you would also be beneficial—"

"Always quick with your assumptions, aren't you Suzaku? Do you think you know everything about me? You—"

"Then... are you going to continue your senseless fight? Is your revenge all that mattered to you? Killing your brother Clovis and Euphie was not enough? Do you want to drag other people in this as well? Just so you can satisfy you selfish desire? Answer me!"

Lelouch did not answer, instead he just stared blankly before him. Suzaku sighed. He turned to grab a loaf of bread and took a chair to sit. He broke the bread into two and shoved it towards Lelouch.

"Eat. You haven't eaten anything ever since you've awakened from your coma, have you? Don't be stubborn any more..."

"I'll be stubborn as much as I—!", Lelouch glared at him as Suzaku shoved the bread into his mouth. He angrily chomped on the bread as Suzaku gave a sigh of relief. He got off his chair, knelt before him and started untying Lelouch's legs. Lelouch eyed his suspiciously as Suzaku shrugged.

"It must have driven you crazy, being locked up in this small place. Let's take a walk..."

Lelouch swallowed the last of his bread with difficulty as he sneered. "Are you trying to mock me?" Suzaku shook his head. "No. It's just that... I don't want to find you hurting yourself just to get out of this place. All of the plans will become useless if we lost you."

"Heh... very well. It's not like I could escape anyhow."

xxx

"Come over... don't be slow."

Lelouch cursed silently. "It's not like I asked to go out. In the end I'm still captive here... and why are you taking me into this building? If I had wanted to visit the Britannian Administrative building I would have asked—"

"I've wanted to talk to you. About Euphie and everything... I still can't believe you dared—"

"If you wanted to talk about that, we could have talked without coming here. Why—"

"It really doesn't matter to you? Killing Eu—" Suddenly the alarms were sounded as Suzaku turned his attention away from Lelouch. Several explosions were heard as the announcement of an attack was made. Suzaku cursed as he turned towards Lelou—to his surprise, Lelouch was nowhere in sight! He spat as he ran off to find him, scolding himself for being careless.

Elsewhere in one of the room near the hall, Lelouch watched as Suzaku ran off towards another direction and disappeared into the corridors. Lelouch could not help smiling; having managed to slip away from him but frowned as the hand covering his mouth still had not released him. He threw his weight onto the other as the person released him involuntarily after they hit the wall. The person cursed aloud as Lelouch turned towards him. Both of them gasped as they recognized each other.

"You—Lelouch?"

Lelouch blinked.

"Kallen? What are you doing here?"

o

o

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az: R2 and further character developments have an influence in this new revision, even then it won't influence much. The hiatus had helped as well to get me out of fangirling mode. The old chapters freaked me out with the fangirl characterism. I hoped this time I won't make everyone OOC too much. Sorry if it was too wordy... especially on Lulu's part. I always imagine Lulu being that think-a-lot kinda person. Trying to finish this as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter 4:0: Wings of Despair

az: Spent a day replaying the scenes on this chapter. Now I hoped I managed to type it out as it is in my head. As this is completely new chapter with no refs from the old chapter... This is going to be a fun ride.

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario..

* * *

Chapter 4.0: Wings of Despair

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

Kallen backed a few steps as she stared him in disbelief.

"Lelouch... why—Why are you here?"

Lelouch shrugged.

"Before I answer that question... would you mind untying me first? I assure you I'll explain everything."

Kallen blinked but gradually she snapped out of reverie and helped untie his hands and arms. As she threw away the strings, a thought hit her. Earlier when she had pulled Lelouch away, Kururugi Suzaku was with him. And she had thought that Lelouch and Suzaku were friends! Why would Suzaku—and why would he talked to Lelouch in such hostile way? She could not understand it.

"You—why were you here? And why did they tied you up—?"

"That same question, should I ask the same for you? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to find Ze—you! Didn't you recognise this uniform I'm wearing—my clothes, my appearance now... and what happened to your eye?"

Lelouch grabbed her hand as he tried to convince her to follow him. "I'll explain later, we've got to leave—"

Kallen refused as she tried to run towards the opposite direction. "No, I can't leave now! They said... Zero might be here. I've got to—almost everyone were captured now—!" Lelouch gave a grunt as he pulled on her even harder. "Leave them be! Important thing now is to leave this place—!"

"But Zero—!"

"I am Zero!"

Kallen gasped as she pulled away from Lelouch. Lelouch looked at her, unwavering. Suddenly she felt this different aura from Lelouch that was unlike what she used to feel when she was around him. She immediately pulled her gun out and aimed it at him.

"Don't joke with me! What trick are you playing?"

"Kallen! We don't have time for this..."

"No, we had enough—you've been there when I got the first call from Zero. You can't—"

"That was because I've used a trick to make you think Zero was not me. Kallen... I'll explain everything to you later after this, let's go. The Order needed to get back together now—"

Kallen did not lower her gun. Lelouch cast a long look at her.

"Don't you trust me? Kallen... aside from that witch, you're the only other person who had ever got close to Zero. You should know Zero a lot more than the rest of the Order combined. Even if there are people who would pose as Zero, you should be able to tell the difference—"

"Don't come near!"

"Kallen." Lelouch came nearer. "Am I now... not worth your trust?"

"No... Lelouch, I didn't mean—can I trust you?"

Lelouch smiled before his expression grew serious. "Of course. Now, tell me what had happened to the Order?"

xxx

"Hnn... C.C said that?"

Kallen nodded. "Though I do not know what she wanted to do."

"How many of our men still outside?"

"Not many... Urabe-san managed to gather the remaining men to another of our rendezvous points though. I've gone out to try gathering information, which was how I heard that Ze—I mean you, were here. Lelouch, there something I thought I should tell you... Ashford—"

"Hey you! Aren't you—"

Lelouch immediately took off his eyepatch and turned towards the guard. "You did not see anything over here! Go towards the other side of the building.", ordered Lelouch as his Geass did its work. Another voice came from the guard's communicator as the man reported that it was a false alarm. Mechanically, the guard turned the other way and left, ignoring them. Lelouch sighed in relief, had he made the wrong move their locations would have been easily found out! Kallen stared at the scene in disbelief.

"What... what happened just now?"

"Explanations later, let's go!"

At that brief moment, Kallen noticed Lelouch's left eye as they ran towards the exit. She gasped and gave a loud cry but Lelouch ignored her as he dragged her out. As they reached the main gates, Lelouch's strength faltered as they abruptly stopped. Kallen pulled her arm free in anger.

"Lelouch, what's the meaning of this? What was that about... on that guard? And that eye? What's the meaning of the thing we saw earlier?"

Lelouch turned towards her as he tried to control his breathing. "I said I'll tell you later! Is that a way to address Zero?"

"I am talking to Lelouch now!—"

Lelouch sighed but before he could speak another voice stopped him. Both of them turned as Suzaku and Schneizel came to view.

"Lelouch... don't make the same mistake anymore. I've told you, there should be another way—"

"I refuse."

Schneizel's words were cut off as Lelouch spoke out coldly. "Even as your words do interest me, I do not think that what you proposed is possible. Do you think things will go as you planned as long as I concede and follow you? I rather fight on my own, with my own way."

Suzaku snarled as he heard the troops arriving not far behind him.

"You think that bloodshed could solve everything? I really don't know you now... Lelouch!"

Lelouch snarled. "You don't know anything about me if all that you conclude of my actions is THIS—" A sound of incoming vehicles was heard coming from behind them as Kallen turned to look. She grimaced as she realized that it seemed that they were cornered!

"Do you think you can even escape this place?—"

"As long as I am alive I would always find a way—!"

"Big brother... Stop!"

Lelouch froze. Kallen stood stunned. Everything did not make any sense, she did not understand what was going on around her. Helpless and feeling numb, she turned her attention towards Lelouch.

"Lelouch, please don't act rashly anymore! We could settle this peacefully—" That voice belonged to Cornelia and Lelouch could not help but laugh at the irony.

"Are you sure about that... Cornelia? Did you forget... this person, this hand had been the one that pulled the trigger on Clovis and Euphie?"

Cornelia went silent. Kallen glanced between the two of them in confusion. Somehow, she sensed that there was something between the two that she could not grasp. The tone of the voice as well, for some reason she could not decipher the emotions conveyed in Lelouch's words. There was hatred yet she felt sadness as well. If she did not mistake her own feelings as well, she thought she could sense regret as well. Because of this, she was truly baffled.

"Lelouch..." Schneizel started to say but Nunnally suddenly spoke.

"Big brother... you're really Zero is it? You did... Clovis and Euphie-sis..."

Kallen turned her attention towards Nunnally. _Euphie-sis? Then Lelouch... what's his true identity—! _

Her thoughts were cut off as Lelouch suddenly let out a maddened laugh.

"So in the end you told them about Nunnally's location to stop me, is it? Suzaku?"

xxx

"I don't get it. Why would they take Nunnally away?"

"Rivalz, don't get nosy..."

"But you're wondering as well, didn't you Shirley? Lulu hadn't returned as well, if the guy came back and looking for her what would you say? You know the guy was all over protective over Nunnally. I just hope that he didn't get into some kind of trouble—"

Millay waved her hand over the two bickering friends as she gave a sigh. "Both of you need not to worry. Those people would not harm Nunnally. Even then... I'll still worry."

Rivalz and Shirley looked at her in curiosity. "Senior Millay, would you know something more about this by any chance?"

The girl blinked.

"Ah? No... No! How on earth I'd know something—" answered Millay nervously. Both of them looked at her curiously before dropped it all together and went to talk about other things. Millay sighed in relief before turning her attention towards the news report on the television. Silently, she prayed that the two siblings would be all right. And she hoped that the uneasy feelings that she had felt at the moment in her heart, was not an omen signifying something bad that might happen in the future...

o

o

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az: I could probably end this in one or two more chapters. Wanted to make this chapter longer... but decided to break this at this point of time.


	7. Chapter 4:5: Chained Hands

az: Looking back at the date this fic had been published... it's been a year. About time I finish this fic... as well as my other WIPs. I guess in all these years, my writing style do change a lot. I felt a little nostalgic. Come to think, it's been a while since I read any new fics from others.

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario.

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Chapter 4.25: Chained Hands

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

"Schneizel, tell me something—"

The man cocked his head towards him.

"Why were you so determined to take me in? It won't change my resolve. Even if you take me in, I would still fight against Britannia's will. Do you mean to say that what Zero did was wrong so you wanted Lelouch Vi Britannia to rectify the wrong? What would that discarded heir of Britannia do that Zero can't do? What would that person do that won't be deemed wrong even if it was the same thing that Zero had done? Did that even make any difference?"

"There is a difference—"

"Did you forget something? Lelouch Vi Britannia was dead. He died long time ago even before he was thrown into this land like some kind of unwanted trash. I am of no use to you."

Kallen found herself speechless. When Lelouch had said aloud his real name, she had been struck numb. So all of this time, this person had been the one who lead them? Not just some brilliant student but an abandoned Britannian heir? She had barely remembered the stories years ago about how the Holy Empire of Britannia had sent two of their prince and princess to Japan as hostage in exchange for a share in the sakuradite minerals. No news had been heard of them after the exchange and no news had been heard of their fates after Britannia conquered Japan. The two children had been assumed as dead and forgotten as if they had never existed. She never paid attention to the stories much so when she had met Lelouch for the first time, she had never thought of the connection. As she had thought of this, a scary realization popped up in her mind. The Order, all of them... did Lelouch used them all along?

Schneizel frowned. "You're still alive. I will not let you go on making this mistake—"

"I am dead." Lelouch's gaze becoming unfocused as everyone focused their attention towards him.

"—Everything that I used to have back then had all been given to me. In other words, I have never been alive. A dead person like me have no rights whatsoever. Schneizel, these words... did it rang any bells?" said Lelouch as his gaze focused back towards him.

"Do you think I wanted to return to Britannia, following the circumstances that you suggested? I—"

"Doing this instead, served a purpose? Lelouch, you should have lead a better life. You should—"

"If that was easy, I could have done that long ago. But the fact that I am still related to that person will not be change. I am sick of hiding, being helpless and unable to live the way I wanted—"

"So you chose to use the Japanese people to exact your revenge instead? How's that justify everything?", Lelouch turned towards Suzaku as the pilot of Lancelot fumed. Kallen gave a small cry behind him as he addressed her gently.

"Kallen, don't be swayed by his words—"

"But it's the truth, isn't it? All you've wanted was—"

"If my revenge can also exact justice for the people here, I don't see what's wrong with that."

Suzaku snarled in anger. "You—!"

Lelouch snapped in return. "—then do you think I could stand still and watch the innocents being killed? Do you—"

"You've killed a lot as well! What's makes you different—!"

"—think I should ignore them and walk away?"

Lelouch bit his lips. "Suzaku! Do you still remember... that day when we first met after so long?"

Suzaku was about to say something as Lelouch posed the question. Kallen as well as everyone kept quiet, uncertain of what to do. As the tension rose, Schneizel took the chance to order the rest of troops to back away and watch out for any ambush by the rebels. He turned his attention back to the current situation as he saw Suzaku clutching his hand tightly.

Suzaku eyed him coldly. "What about that?"

"Do you think if I had not fought back, would I be standing here before you? If I had not fought back, Kallen, Ougi... and many of the other innocent people would have been dead."

"It's because of your intervention that it went that way—"

"Then what would you judge Clovis's actions then? Just because they wanted to retrieve the thing that Kallen and the others took, they annihilated a big portion of the population in Shinjuku and disguised it as some poisoned gas incident! And just because I knew of the true content of that gas chamber, they wanted to kill me off to cover it up. These kind of things, no matter how you wanted to ignore the it would not change the fact that it happened! Suzaku... based on your moral beliefs, what would you do when pitted in this situation? True, I have taken my score of lives; innocent or likewise. But the same thing... you—", Lelouch raised his arm and pointed it towards him, "—aren't you the same as me? What makes me wrong in taking lives but not you? Just because the side you're with are stronger than mine, it does it mean you're in the right! Do you think that your justice is the only truth and my justice are not?"

Suzaku gritted his teeth.

"In the end this was the true nature of Britannia! The only thing that mattered, is that the strong will keep being strong. The weak has no place in the Britannian world. Those who are weaker had to concede with whatever fate thrown at them. But if you think I will sit still and let myself stepped on by these bastard, you'll be mistaken—"

Kallen grabbed Lelouch's arm as she looked around at the surroundings. "Lelouch... we'd better find ways to escape—"

A sudden realization hit Schneizel as he shoved Suzaku aside.

"Lelouch, did you do this because of your mother?"

Both of them stopped moving again as the troops at the exit fidgeted with their weapons. Cornelia hurriedly ushered them to back off as her own men stood by her side. She frowned as she heard Schneizel mentioned Empress Marianne. She turned to look at Nunnally as the little girl appeared tensed.

Lelouch shouted angrily.

"Do not mention my mother's name so carelessly! Just because all of you made the assassination looked like a terrorist attack, doesn't mean that I shall sit still without avenging her! Just because of her position—"

"We had nothing to do with that! Lelouch—", Lelouch looked up towards Cornelia.

"What do you mean you hadn't? You're the guard commander at that time! You're the one who ordered—"

"I was requested to do that by your mother. Lelouch, believe me!"

Lelouch stared at her firmly, his permanent Geass flashing menacingly at her. Putting her into Geass would be so easy for him in this situation, both of them were staring eye to eye. On the other hand, Cornelia stood proud before him as if seeing his left eye glowing bright staring back at her was something normal. For a second there he thought of ordering her to speak the truth using the Geass but a part of him feared that it might just confirmed her earlier statement.

"It can't—"

Lelouch stuttered in alarm as Cornelia's eyes started to soften. For a moment it felt that it was in fact his half-sister, standing before him and not the fearsome 'Witch of Britannia', the current Governor-general of Area 11. Kallen shook him in alarm as he snapped to reality. Lelouch closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. As he opened his eyes again, Kallen let out a sigh of relief as the old spark of confidence returned in his eyes. Lelouch was back to being Zero again after regaining his composure.

"Putting that aside, in the end it doesn't change a thing. The fact still remained that Britannia had trampled over the weak for so long! I used to be weak... but that does not mean that I will allow myself to remain weak. I will become stronger. Even if I have to defeat all of you for it, I will... even if it meant that I would lose my heart—"

"—I will crush Britannia!"

Suzaku staggered as a piece of memory flashed into his mind. Memory of the long path that they had walked on. The rotten smell of dead bodies. And of the young boy, Lelouch. Before him, the boy had swore to him. The same ones as the ones just spoken by Lelouch earlier.

Schneizel walked closer as Lelouch pulled Kallen closer to himself. Kallen looked around in vain.

"Damn! How on earth we could get out of this mess!" hissed Kallen under her breath.

Lelouch bit his lips. Schneizel had ordered his men to stay further away from them. Although that left them with less protection, considering that Suzaku as well as Cornelia and her men were not in their KnightMares; it also left him with no chance to escape as well! With the troops so far away, how could he use his power on them? Then again there was Cornelia and her men... but with Nunnally with her, he could not—He suddenly remembered the building behind him...

"Kallen, it seemed that we have no other choice but—"

Kallen looked at him in alarm. But before he could explain, another voice stopped them.

"Wait brother! Don't do this! There must be another way for us to solve this... there must be another peaceful way for us to take care of this! Brother... Miss Kallen!"

Both of them froze. Even without looking, Kallen could feel that Lelouch was in a dilemma. The hand that held hers shook with uncertainty. She might have known Nunnally only for a short while, but she saw how much Lelouch cared about his sister. Never once, had she saw Lelouch ever done anything that was opposed to what Nunnally said to him. Kallen looked around in dismay.

"Nunnally..." The voice that came out, sounded helpless almost pleading. Lelouch glanced towards Nunnally. Euphie's words rang again in his mind, asking him the same thing. But this situation, having arrived at this point... he could not bring it to his mind to do what they had wished. He had thought of this many times, it could not work! Despite how much he would have wanted to find another way to achieve the one thing that he had wanted without so much bloodshed.

"Did you... wanted so much to destroy Britannia?"

Both of them turned towards Schneizel.

"Would you agree to join me if I agree to help you? Britannia is such a great country, even if we cannot destroy it... we could take over it and change it. In a way, it would still 'destroy' the country of its identity. So if I agreed to help you with that... would you join me... Lelouch—?"

Lelouch stared at him in disbelief as Suzaku gave a cry of protest. Kallen shook her head over and over. "No way... there's no way you'd do that! You just saying this to trick—"

Schneizel turned his glance towards her.

"—I'd release all of the Order's members as well, would you accept that? In the end... to reintroduce the Special Administrative Region policy here, we would still need help from the Order as well. The world does not need even more sadness that it already had—"

The reply left her speechless. As much as she doubted the suggestion, if it could save all of her comrades...

xxx

Lelouch gave out a long sigh. Suddenly he felt scared to make a decision. Looking at Kallen, he thought of his men. It was true that he had initially treated them as pawns but he could not deny that the Order was important to him as well! Those men had supported him for so long, becoming his strength. There was no way that he could abandon them now.

Not to mention his own sister, his raison d'être; had also decided to take the peaceful method. He turned his glance towards Nunnally. If Nunnally had decided firmly on this, if he decided to disagree... that would mean that he would be fighting against her! That notion, he had never thought of as any of the possibilities that he would face. He could stand fighting the nation, fighting Charles Di Britannia or the rest of his family. But Nunnally? How could he ever muster the courage to do that?

His line of sight crossed pass Cornelia but the woman remained silent. There were no words exchanged but Lelouch knew what she had wanted to say. It did not take much effort to understand the meaning behind that saddened pair of eyes. He sighed again.

"Very well, I—", he started to say...

"ZERO!"

Suddenly another voice called up towards him as he turned around. Everything after that became a blur...

xxx

Kallen stood stiffly, still in shock. For some reason, she felt as if the sound that she had heard was not real. She stiffly glanced around, everyone had frozen on their spot as well. Nobody seemed to be expecting this sudden turn of event. She looked back towards the direction the voice had came from. A woman, for some reason the face had looked familiar but at the moment she could not place it in her mind of her identity. And then she saw the gun. Alarmed she turned towards Lelouch.

"Lelouch... are you alright?"

Lelouch had looked pale, still in shock as he turned towards her. Without thinking she scrambled to catch him as Lelouch collapsed before her.

As if time suddenly moved again, everyone immediately snapped back to reality. Cornelia gave a cry of alarm as Scneizel hurriedly called for assistance. Everything suddenly took a life of its own as an enourmous fear started to haunt Kallen. Kallen fought her own panic as she held Lelouch closely.

"Lelouch... hang in there! Don't die on me!"

Lelouch's eyes were unfocused. Even then, his lips curled up into a sneer.

"Don't... be fussy. I won't... die so easy—"

Schneizel knelt down beside them as he saw even more blood coming out from the gunshot wound. He hurriedly pulled out his scarf to stop the bleeding.

"Let me take him to a doctor! We shouldn't waste time—"

Kallen tried to argue before noticing that Lelouch felt heavier. To their alarm, they looked down to find that he had grown limp. Kallen looked at him in horror as she cried his name aloud...

o

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az: Okay. For some reason all the dialogues made me lose track a bit there, I hope it didn't turn out badly. My Lulu and Suzaku muse had beenarguing OOT in my head making me have to rewrote several lines again and again, and I just have to have these scene over. Feel free to say whatever you guys thought about this (lousy?) chapter.


	8. Chapter 5:0: Ambiguous Future

az: And mind is trying to think up another AU. orz.

az: Aside from that, it was amusing that the moment I shoot off Lulu I finally see some more people reviewing. Not that I actually demanded reviews... just that, with the amount of alerts and favs this fic had got, I do wonder what readers think about this fics. And not getting any feedbacks made me feel a bit insecure... more like scared. Because if no one give feedbacks, how'd I know if I managed to keep character or got off topic. So yeah, really appreciated all feedbacks but please... don't pester me for updates. Thank you. Other than that... no, it's not Nina. Why Nina anyway?

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario.

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Chapter 5.0: Ambiguous Future

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

o

o

"Get on in, you guys. We're not doing this all day...' said the man as he ushered the others into the truck.

He glanced towards the other side of the building. Despite many of them had left the place, there were still so many of them still. And some of them were not that compliant either. He hoped that no one made any trouble, Tamaki almost did it though but luckily it was nothing that he could not solve. Especially when he was in charge this time.

Kyoshiro Todo glanced towards the western exit as he felt a presence. He frowned slightly when he saw that there was no one there as he went back towards his men...

xxx

Suzaku let out a sigh of relief. That was close.

He took a peek again into the hangar but Todo had already left. He sighed again.

Considering the current circumstances, he thought probably now was the right time to straighten it out with his former mentor. To explain to him of his true reason of joining Britannia. Despite their differences, Todo was after all still his senior. He wanted to tell him that he had not change at all in his beliefs and that he had never intended to betray them. But now, somehow when the time for it had presented themselves to him... he could not muster the courage to walk up to him. _Perhaps one day..._

_One day, everything would be explained and understood._

With that one thought, Suzaku left the place to attend to other matters.

xxx

Urabe waited at the meeting point uncertain as he fingered the controls on his Gekka. Having nothing to do but wait, he wondered about the truce agreed between them with Britannia last night in order to brush off his uneasiness. Afterall, the memory of the Genocide Princess tragedy that had happened here recently was still fresh in his mind.

That time, he had been concerned about Kozuki's safety. The girl had informed them about overhearing some new information on Zero's whereabouts and went to the Tokyo Administrative Office to investigate about it. But ever since she had entered the place, there had been no contact from her telling of the current situation. It made him worry after all since she was their most skilled fighter. Added to the fact that he was currently the only Shisei-ken member that was not caught by the Britannian.

That was why he had led some of the remaining members to the place to rescue Kozuki and if possible, Zero; as well as his other comrades. He had not expected to have one of Cornelia's knight, Sir Guilford stopped them by calling out a truce. Normally, he would not have agreed on it but before he could refuse the request Kozuki had appeared with the same request; saying that if they did not comply to it, it would be against Zero's orders. And earlier that morning, another message had been sent to them saying that by noon of this day that every single members of the Order of the Black Knights will be released unconditionally and that they should pick them up at this meeting place.

Urabe frowned. This change of events was unexpected and he wondered for the reason for this to happen. He looked up as he watched how the green-haired lady sat restlessly on one of the stadium's seats. That woman called C.C. had came back to them suddenly, appearing disgruntled as if she had failed in a task that she had gone to do. But even though she had been sort of like an aide to Zero in the past, she had refused to lead them considering the absence of Zero, Todo-san and Kozuki. The reason why he had taken to himself of the position at the moment.

But considering the current situation, Urabe felt a bit unsure of the future of the Order.

Before he could change his mind to go to the Tokyo Administrative Office again, his attention was diverted with the arrival of several trucks that suddenly came into the stadium...

xxx

Kallen buttoned up her jacket smartly as she adjusted the position of her scarf on her shoulders. She brushed her hair a bit to straighten out some of the loose strands as she gave a long sigh. She glanced to her side as she picked up her freshly washed uniform. To think that this uniform had a lot of memories in it. And starting from now, her path will be even more challenging and hard.

Kallen sighed again before going out of the room. Everyone seemed to be out and about around her, appearing busy. Even Nunnally was not in her room, thouht Kallen as she paused in front of one of the rooms in that floor. As she entered the room, she smiled as the person on the bed turned his head towards her.

"Well, aren't this a welcoming sight? Good afternoon... Lelouch."

Lelouch Lamperouge gave her a welcoming smile as she took a seat by the bedside.

_xxx_

"Lelouch! Wake up Lelouch... You—!"

Kallen paused as Lelouch's hand slowly rose and lightly hit her left cheek. She blinked away her tears as Lelouch open his eyes a little, looking slightly annoyed.

"Silly... I'm not dead yet." said Lelouch in a strained voice. "... you think, running around with my injuries... added with this... do you think I have enough energy left?"

Kallen started to laugh at her silliness despite her tears never stopped falling.

"I'm sorry... Lelouch."

Lord Schneizel smiled weakly as he slowly lifted Lelouch in his arm. Kallen wiped away her tears as Nunnally rolled by with Lady Cornelia by her side. Before she could say anything, Sir Darlton and Sir Guilford arrived with a young woman between then.

"My Lady... this woman, what are your orders for her?" said Sir Guilford.

Kallen eyed the woman with curiosity before the woman lifted her head in protest. She gasped as she recognised the face. _Chigusa?_

Lady Cornelia looked at her sternly. "Just put her into detention for now. I'll see to this matter late—"

Their attention were diverted as another blast of explosion occur not so far from where they were. Cornelia frowned as her communicator beeped. One of her knights informed her of a sudden attack by the surviving Order of the Black Knights members and asking for what action to take. The women frowned again as she contemplated on the next actions.

"Guilford..."

Sir Guilford stood to attention as he waited for her orders.

"Get some men with you and intercept them. Tell them that we would like to negotiate a truce with them."

"Yes, Your Highness. I will get to—"

"Wait..."

Lady Cornelia and her two knights turned towards her as Kallen stared at them with resolve.

"I'll go with you. The Order won't believe you anyway even if you really had good intention for setting up a truce. I'll tell them, in Lelouch's place. If the request came from Zero himself, the Order would certainly obliged."

"Thank you..." said Cornelia gratefully.

Kallen brushed the concerns away.

"As long as Lelouch is safe—"

Cornelia smiled. "Of course..."

_xxx_

"So that's what happened... is it?"

Kallen nodded as Lelouch gave a long sigh.

"You're not mad, is it? I... acted on my own last night. I—"

"It's alright. If Viletta Nu hadn't shot me that time, I would have done the same thing. In fact, if that accident with Euphie had not happen as well... I would have also make this same decision."

Kallen looked at him puzzled. "Accident—? Err... what—who's Viletta Nu?"

Lelouch stared back at her, equally surprised. "The one who shot me... by your description, I knew that it was—Anyway, what about the release of our men? Had you—?"

Kallen nodded. "I already talked about it with Todo-san. And your brother... had also helped speed up the process. I've also sent messages to Urabe of the transfer as well. The others had been suspicious about the whole process still, but Todo and Ougi had also helped in calming the others so it should be fine."

"Are they still here?"

Kallen nodded. "Yes, earlier I had taken a look and about half of the people had already left—eh what are you doing?"

Lelouch struggled to get out of bed with one hand as he reached out for his clothes that had been folded nearby. Kallen stopped him sternly.

"Don't be so rash! If you wanted to talk to them, I—"

"I wanted to give my explanations to them personally. At least, that should be something Zero needed to do."

Kallen shrugged helplessly as she took out his clothes.

"Then I'll give you a hand. You couldn't move your left arm, isn't it?" said Kallen, motioning to his arm tied on the sling. Lelouch chuckled.

"Of course! Viletta's aim was quite good—"

"Lucky, isn't it?", Lelouch looked up towards her as Kallen helped to put on his shirt. "If her aim was any closer, you might have really died. That shot barely missed your heart."

Lelouch smiled weakly.

"I should thank my own lucky star indeed..."

o

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az: I wanted for once to actually not having to break the chapters into two again but it seemed that I have to break it again. The scene that I had left out sort of went back in time so if I included it here it would be awkward. Chapter 6 or the epilogue would probably be shorter.

Perhaps it's been a while since I've sentenced my main characters in any recent fics of any life-threatening situations or that my many latter fics was not that much of action oriented, but it's been a very long time for any of my chapters to get a lot of reviews/response for that chapter alone. Had to admit it scared me a little.

Anyway, thanks for reading and liking this piece.


	9. Chapter 5:5: Wings of Vision

az: On random note, this is why I don't like getting many reviews after so long not getting much. I'd get hopeful for more. My bad.

Actually I had wanted to insert Jeremiah as well. XP But there's no suitable scene... ah well, probably when I finished the last part of Buried Soul I put him in there. And to think that I've lost idea on the chapter titles.

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Disclaimer: Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch is copyrighted by Sunrise as well as character designs by CLAMP. I'm only borrowing the fandom for the sake of the fic and the love of it. Note: This fic will take place in a probable future and will be an Alternate Ending/What-if scenario.

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Chapter 5.5: Wings of Vision

By honou-no-izumi alias Izzu alias Izumi Ishtar

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"_I guess you've got your miracle now... Lulu."_

"_What do you mean... Euphie?"_

"_What do you mean... what? Didn't you said it earlier? About getting yourself shot and showing the world how you miraculously survive the ordeal? Well... there you got it."_

_Lelouch snickered. "Don't you kid me. Are you telling me that you've been protecting me all this time?"_

_Euphemia Ri Britannia just mischievously smiled at him. Lelouch laughed at her, cynically._

"_Why? I'm the one who shot you..."_

_Euphie just shook her head at him as she said her last words to him..._

_xxx_

"Lelouch... is something wrong?"

Lelouch blinked as Kallen finished tying up his scarf neatly. Kallen smiled in relief as she slipped Lelouch's purple coat on him; leaving the left side hanging over his shoulders.

"You suddenly spaced out like that, it made me worry. Are you sure you're strong enough to go out?"

Lelouch chuckled as he waved at her using his good hand.

"I'm all right. I just... just now, I was thinking about this dream that I had earlier. That's all."

Kallen shrugged as she had done helping him put on his boots. She held out her hand as Lelouch frowned at her.

"I'm not that disabled, Kallen. I can get up on my own—"

Lelouch stood with little difficulty before he suddenly started swaying sideways. Kallen caught him before he could fall. She snickered a little. "And what was that?"

Lelouch's face redden a little as he looked away.

"It's nothing. I just felt faint a little for lying on bed too long! Let's go..." he said as both of them left the room.

xxx

Todo flipped the folders shut as he finished checking the list. Every single one of them remaining had already boarded the last truck. They should be leaving soon. Kaname Ougi came running as he brought a small case with him. Todo frowned.

"Ougi, what are those?"

Ougi shrugged.

"It was the documents regarding the Special Administrated Region... that Sir Guilford of the Glaston Knight passed to me just now. Todo-san... about this, are you really sure about this? After the first incident with the Genocide Princess... I don't feel it's a good—"

"—Kozuki-kun had explained to me of the reasoning behind the decision and she had said that the decision was made by Zero himself. Considering the current situation at the moment, we would gain a great deal of advantage in this trade. Even if it's not total independence from Britannia, with this partial independence already achieved... that dream of regaining our beloved Japan is no longer impossible. I think that was worth the risk, don't you think so? Even if we still fight, with so much destruction already happening... there was no sure way of winning this war. At least with this, more lives can be spared."

Ougi nodded, finally comprehending everything as he held the case tightly.

"Then we must do this correctly or all our efforts will be in vain."

Todo agreed as both of them turned to head towards the last truck...

"Wait! Todo-san! Ougi-san!"

Ougi turned around as Kallen ran towards them hastily. She cough aloud as she paused for breath.

"Lucky I made it on time—" said the girl as she grinned sheepishly towards both men.

"Is there something wrong... Kozuki-kun?" asked Todo as she shook her head.

"He wanted to talk to both of you..."

"_He_?" mused Ougi as another person walked up slowly towards them from the same direction from where Kallen had appeared. The young man moaned helplessly.

"Kallen! How many times should I tell you to not go off so fast? You know so well I'm not as athletic as you—"

Kallen grinned as Lelouch finally showed himself. "You need to exercise some more then..."

Lelouch made a sour face at her.

"Isn't that a cruel thing to say to an injured person?" he moaned as Kallen smiled merrily.

Ougi gasped as he finally saw him fully. Despite of the lack of a mask and a cape, he had recognized the clothes that Lelouch had been wearing. Though at the moment, it had looked a little too worn; as if it had its fair share of battles. Looking at his appearance, he could not believe that this person had been leading them all to fight against Britannia. He could not believe that all this time, Zero; the one who had been their leader had been so young. As young as Kallen perhaps! Ougi was even more surprised to see that Todo had not been affected as much as him at this revelation. He shook his head in disbelief.

"So it had been you all this time, isn't it? No wonder Kirihara-sama trusted you." asked Todo.

Lelouch nodded his head solemnly.

"Now I understood the reasoning of some of your past actions and why you had come forward to lead us, to fight Britannia. I should have realized sooner, that kind of intelligence—"

"It's been a while, isn't it? I guess it's payback for saving my life that time..."

Todo smiled bitterly as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That was unnecesary, the one pulling who did that wasn't me after all. So this decision of letting us help out on S.A.R., was it really your decision?", Lelouch nodded again, "—what would you do then after this?"

Lelouch sighed.

"Perhaps... we would return to the motherland. And as for what I had wanted to do later, I guess it's another gamble for me again."

Todo looked at him with concern. "Are you sure about that? If you return, the fact that you had been Zero... should had been known to the Emperor by then. Would you still return to that country still?"

"That... I'll leave it to fate. For a while, I've been blinded my own thirst for revenge that I've forgotten my true reason for starting this fight. I've thought on this for a while, perhaps I'll try a different approach to achieve my goal. My true aim had been Britannia all along, not just for Japan; all of you have no need to continue fighting for something that have no relation to you. I have involved all of you enough already, all of you had no reason any more to fight for my own personal war. I will fight by myself from now on."

"Wait a minute... I don't understand. What's this all about?" asked Ougi in confusion as the three of them turned towards him.

"This young man... was Britannian's eleventh prince—", explained Todo, "—Seven years ago, he and his sister had been sent here as hostage under the care of the late Prime Minister Kururugi."

Ougi blinked again.

"You mean... all this time, Zero... Zero had been a Britannian prince all along?"

"Ougi... I apologize for lying to all of you. I won't take it to heart either if any of you want to blame me for hiding my true identity, or for using all of you... doing those things that I did—"

"It's all right!"

Lelouch jumped.

"It's fine, you don't have to apologize! I admit... I find it hard to take all of this in at once with everything suddenly happening at the same time. Hearing all of this suddenly about you did made me feel betrayed and I don't think that rest of the Order would forgive you either for this."

Lelouch smiled bitterly. He had expected this after all.

Ougi continued to speak. "But Zero... regardless of this, it cannot be denied that you've done so much for our sakes. Our release from prison... it's because of you, isn't it?"

"It might be hard to explain this to the others, but I'll try. Despite all of this, we cannot deny that we owe a lot to you. Without you, our rebel group would never had achieve something as great as this. All of us would have to be grateful to you and be willing to serve you still even if we had been used by you all this time. So why... are you leaving us now?"

Lelouch stared at him speechless. "Err, thank you... Ougi. But this... I should not involve all of you anymore. Your goal of liberating Japan is coming closer to reality, all of you had no obligation to follow me any more... for my own selfish desire. All of you should realize your own dreams now."

"Then... in return, we offer you our loyalty. At least, this is something we could give you in return. We might not be able to aid you now... but you may count on us to be your strength."

Todo held his hand out as Lelouch shook his hand in return. Ougi glanced at his wristwatch as they were reminded of their departure time. Ougi turned towards Kallen.

"Are you sure you're not joining us?"

Lelouch glanced towards Kallen in surprise. Kallen shook her head. Ougi nodded in understanding as they started to bid farewell to both of them. Lelouch gasped as he was suddenly reminded of something.

"Ougi, another thing. About C.C.—please take care of her in my place. I don't think it was a good idea for her to follow me in this situation, I'm not sure what would happen to her should she return to Britannia as well. And if anything goes wrong—"

"We would come in your aid. Rest assured. And don't worry about the SAR. We'll do our part of it—" said Todo. Both of them turned towards their transport as Todo suddenly turned around.

"Another thing before I leave, my lord. Is there something wrong about that eye of yours?"

Lelouch shook his head. "It's nothing."

Todo nodded calmly.

"Very well. Take care of yourselves. And tell Suzaku the same thing as well. And next time, tell him that he have no need to hide from me. If he wanted to talk to me about something, he better come talk to me straightforwardly."

"I'll tell him that."

xxx

Lelouch sighed as both of them turned to go back towards the upper floors. He turned towards Kallen as the girl walked with him into the elevator.

"Idiots. Why weren't any of you mad at me? Why nobody's lash their anger towards me? Hah—"

Kallen glanced at him as Lelouch gave out a long sigh.

"Kallen... are you really sure about this? I'm not forcing you to stay by me—"

"Yes, this is my decision." said Kallen as she turned towards him. "And you don't have to talk me out of this. After all, do you think I would let you off on your own? I've decided on this myself to stay by your side. You made us as your knights, didn't you? And you've appointed me as the leader your own personal squadron. Do you think that I would easily abandon you after this is all over? Our fight for Japan might be over but your fight is not. Please let me assist you until the end."

Lelouch looked at her as he smiled to her gratefully. To think that she still regarded him with the same level of loyalty. He slowly walked up to her.

"Thank you. Kallen."

Kallen looked up to reply but she had not expected that Lelouch would embraced her suddenly. Any words she would have wanted to say died on her lips as she felt her heart beating faster. As the elevator door opened again, Kallen hastily walked out. Lelouch looked at her in surprise as he quickly grabbed her hand before she could go any further. Kallen furrowed her brows at him as Lelouch made a face at her.

"Silly girl. Do you think I'm a princess instead of a prince?" he said, changing the topic. "To be my own personal knight—"

Kallen blushed.

"O-of course not... idiot! I-I'm just saying... from now on, I'd serve you. In any way po—ah!"

Suddenly she felt his lips gently touching her own as Kallen closed her eyes and held him close. Kallen opened her eyes again as Lelouch broke the kiss. He grinned.

"That seals the deal then. Don't regret this decision later."

Kallen smiled.

"You wish—"

o

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az: Let me revel a bit on LuluXKallen. They need love. Not much anyway in this fic after all. Pfft. Perhaps I won't be concluding this fic any sooner. But I needed to finish this fic soon. Arrgh! Ah well. Tomorrow's taking another job exam.


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